ACSH staffers would like to offer a seat at the table to Allysia Finley, assistant editor of the Wall Street Journal's OpinionJournal.com, for her recent column chronicling some of the unintended, adverse effects of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and its targeting of trace amounts of lead and phthalates in children's products.
She notes especially that the unscientific crusade against phthalates comes just in time to disappoint children whose toys will be taken away this Christmas: "The science on the issue is clear. Phthalates at the levels found in most products don't pose a measurable risk to humans. Of course, anything -- synthetic or naturally occurring in excess can prove deleterious, even oxygen and water. And regulation in excess, well, it's enough to ruin Christmas."